Richard’s Days with Nine Inch Nails

Richard talked about how he got into the rock game and playing in Nine Inch Nails.

“I was in Nine Inch Nails and I wanted to spread my wings and see what I could do. In ’93, I left NIN, signed with Warner Brothers and in ’95, released ‘Short Bus.’

These days, the band is touring and writing a new album.

“We’re gonna ink a deal with a really cool label. I can’t tell you who the label is cuz we’re finishing up the contract, but it’s a really great rock label. We’re writing a new record, it’s going to come out next year and we’re just doing tours because that’s where the fun’s at,” Richard said.

Life on the Road

Richard said the band has been on the tour a ton and that this current tour is coming up on being close to six weeks long now.

“For me, the worst part is being away from my family. We have one bus and we throw everyone on it and with a 2-year-old and 4-year-old, it’s kinda tough,” he said. “My son is speaking in sentences now and running around and we played Star Wars for him the other day and now I’m going out and rebuying all the Star Wars stuff. He loves the originals, I played him ‘Phantom Menace’ and he was all ‘Not so much.’ ”

Richard said he loves playing in El Paso.

“Being given the opportunity of playing music for a living and getting in front of people — it’s the greatest thing in the world for me. The last time we played here, it was just a huge crowd, it was amazing. El Paso is a real rock town,” Richard said.

Richard said the older he gets, the more he gets into heavier rock.

“I really enjoy heavy, serious intense music now,” he said. “I have a 30-year-old guitar player I’m writing the record with, and he’s into these beautiful soundscapes and I’m all, ‘I really want to turn up the amp.’ ”

You can hear Filter rock out TONIGHT at Streetfest 2012 and check out more of our interview with Richard Patrick, including the controversy surrounding “Hey Man, Nice Shot” and Kurt Cobain’s suicide here and check out a taste of Filter’s heavier sound below.